Chapter 87
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: The Bell Game
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Ga Du-dal tapped the ground with the tip of his toe.
*Swish!*
A clump of dirt shot up, covering Dan Ak-seon's front.
But Dan Ak-seon responded with surprising composure.
He was already accustomed to the tactic of throwing dirt at an opponent from his fight with Neung So-mil.
He had long since overcome similar tricks through countless hours of practice and study.
Closing his eyes, Dan Ak-seon slightly raised his upper body to dodge the dirt and immediately closed the distance.
Then he reached out and snatched at Ga Du-dal's leg.
Or rather, he tried to snatch it.
"…!"
Dan Ak-seon suddenly lost his balance and collapsed to the ground.
The moment he stepped forward to grab his opponent, a sharp pain pierced the sole of his foot.
Seizing that fleeting opportunity, Ga Du-dal rushed in like a predator.
Dan Ak-seon hurriedly tried to counterattack, but the tide of the battle had already turned.
Before they could even properly exchange blows, the edge of Ga Du-dal's hand was already resting on the nape of Dan Ak-seon's neck.
Dan Ak-seon gave a bitter smile.
"I've lost."
Readily admitting defeat, Dan Ak-seon lowered his head to examine his foot.
"When did you…?"
Dan Ak-seon couldn't finish his sentence.
He had discovered a sharp caltrop embedded in the sole of his foot.
A hidden weapon made of iron pieces joined in a diamond shape, designed so that one sharp point always faced upward, no matter how it was thrown.
Kicking up the dirt from the start had been a diversion to secretly scatter these.
"When it comes to dirty tricks, no one can match you, sir."
At Dan Ak-seon's backhanded compliment, Ga Du-dal laughed awkwardly.
It was then that Cho Ak-ryang, who had been watching the spar from a distance, spoke up.
"In any situation, you must consider all variables. This is especially true in a life-or-death battle."
Cho Ak-ryang picked up a caltrop lying on the ground.
"Never forget. It's not the strong who survive, but the survivors who are strong."
"Yes. I'll keep that in mind."
Smiling and nodding, Dan Ak-seon bowed his head to Ga Du-dal.
"Thank you for the valuable lesson."
"Oh? Uh… right."
Ga Du-dal nodded with an awkward smile.
That afternoon.
After a simple meal, Dan Ak-seon began treating the three of them.
Dan Ak-seon inserting a needle into the crown of Beom Gye-wi's head while he did a handstand, and Beom Gye-wi casually offering up his Baihui acupoint, a fatal pressure point.
It all looked perfectly natural, as if it were a part of their daily routine.
Sitting at a distance and watching the scene, Ga Du-dal couldn't hide his dumbfounded expression.
The great Mang Mountain's Thistle, offering his body so defenselessly!
It was a sight he would never have believed if he hadn't heard that Dan Ak-seon was the son of the Divine Physician and the Demonic Physician.
Ga Du-dal was itching to tell someone.
But he doubted anyone would believe him even if he did.
Then, in a certain moment.
*'What's that?'*
Ga Du-dal's eyes began to gleam strangely.
He licked his lips to calm his pounding heart.
But the desire that had started to boil within him wouldn't easily subside.
His own chronic illness, one that no physician in the world could cure.
His kleptomania was acting up.
His gaze, fixed on Dan Ak-seon's hands, refused to waver.
The two sets of needles, in stark contrast of black and white, were clearly the Divine Physician's sacred item, the Immortal Reverence Needles, and the Demonic Physician's sacred item, the Demonic Spirit Needles.
Tormented by an unbearable temptation, Ga Du-dal suddenly felt a strange sensation and shifted his gaze.
And his heart immediately sank.
His eyes had met Beom Gye-wi's, who was staring intently at him.
"Why are you looking like that?"
At Beom Gye-wi's words, Ga Du-dal broke out in a cold sweat.
"What? Haha, it's nothing."
"It doesn't look like nothing."
"I just never imagined I'd get to see the medical arts of the two legends, the Divine Physician and the Demonic Physician, in person. I'm just amazed, that's all."
Ga Du-dal hastily made an excuse.
Fortunately, it seemed to work, as Beom Gye-wi soon looked away.
He took a moment to calm his startled heart.
*'To think those monsters were secretly raising a disciple.'*
A joint successor.
And it seemed he was an 'unnamed disciple,' one who only inherited their skills without being bound by a formal master-disciple relationship.
*'Before long, a monster will emerge in the martial world.'*
Ga Du-dal had already realized that Dan Ak-seon's talent was extraordinary.
*'A storm is about to brew.'*
As Ga Du-dal carefully observed Dan Ak-seon, a strange light appeared in his eyes.
He was particularly captivated by Dan Ak-seon's swift and delicate hand movements.
"…!"
Ga Du-dal's heart began to pound once more.
Filled with a strange sense of anticipation and excitement, Ga Du-dal watched Dan Ak-seon intently.
Soon, having finished the treatment, Dan Ak-seon stood up to prepare a meal.
"Why don't you rest a bit before you do that?"
Ga Du-dal approached, speaking casually, and squatted down next to Dan Ak-seon.
The sharp gazes on his back were piercing, but Ga Du-dal spoke nonchalantly.
"Want me to teach you a fun game?"
"A fun game?"
When Dan Ak-seon showed interest, Ga Du-dal took something from his sleeve and placed it on his palm.
It was a small bell.
The bell, made of a transparent material as if carved from crystal, seemed to possess an unusual history at a single glance.
"The game is to take this. But you can't let it make a sound."
Dan Ak-seon reached out and picked up the bell from Ga Du-dal's palm.
*Jingle.*
A sound instantly came from the bell.
It was a clear and pure sound that was pleasant just to hear.
Dan Ak-seon tried to move the bell several more times.
But the result was the same.
No matter how carefully he moved, the bell rang every time.
"This is too difficult."
"Then shall we try the other way around?"
This time, Ga Du-dal placed the bell on Dan Ak-seon's palm.
And slowly, he picked up the bell.
But surprisingly, this time, it made no sound at all.
"Wow! How did you do that?"
Seeing Dan Ak-seon's exclamation of awe, Ga Du-dal gave a smug smile.
"This isn't about martial arts; you have to use your senses. I'm probably the only person in the world who can move this bell without making a sound."
A cold scoff immediately followed his words.
It was Han Seol-hwa, who had approached without them noticing.
Ga Du-dal extended his hand to her as she gave him a look of disdain.
"Would you like to give it a try, Senior?"
Han Seol-hwa picked up the bell as if it were nothing.
In that instant.
*Jingle.*
Han Seol-hwa's eyebrow twitched slightly.
This time, she grabbed the bell with even more caution.
But the result was the same.
The bell rang again.
"Did you rig it?"
At Han Seol-hwa's accusation, Ga Du-dal jumped.
"Of course not! How could I dare…?"
Ga Du-dal trailed off and placed the bell on Dan Ak-seon's palm again.
"Try to take it. But if you use internal energy…"
Before Ga Du-dal could finish, Han Seol-hwa reached for the bell.
A layer of white frost had already formed on her hand.
She intended to freeze the bell with her cold energy to prevent it from making a sound.
But this time, the bell rang before her hand even touched it.
Ga Du-dal said with a bitter smile.
"…that happens."
"…"
Her pride wounded, Han Seol-hwa glared at the bell.
"Looks interesting."
Beom Gye-wi, who had walked over, showed interest.
Cho Ak-ryang also naturally joined in, expressing his curiosity.
Beom Gye-wi tried, but of course, he failed.
It was the same for Cho Ak-ryang, a master of grappling arts.
It seemed he had succeeded at first, but a faint sound was made at the very last moment.
"What is this thing? Why is it so hard?"
At Beom Gye-wi's words, Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa frowned slightly.
After consecutive failures, the masters' pride was thoroughly bruised.
Seeing their discomfort, Ga Du-dal, fearing he might get caught in the crossfire, quickly turned his head toward Dan Ak-seon.
"Alright, now it's your turn. Want to try again?"
Dan Ak-seon nodded at Ga Du-dal's suggestion.
He took a slow, deep breath to steady himself, then stared at the bell.
When his concentration reached its peak.
Dan Ak-seon slowly extended his hand toward the bell.
His movement was so slow it was breathtaking.
"…!"
It was then that everyone's eyes, except for Dan Ak-seon's, went wide.
Amazingly, the bell had made no sound this time.
The Divine Thief, in particular, watched Dan Ak-seon with a gaze full of strange fervor.
*Jingle.*
"Ah!"
"Damn…"
"So close!"
Different exclamations escaped the lips of Cho Ak-ryang, Beom Gye-wi, and Han Seol-hwa.
With success just within reach, the bell had rung at the last moment.
"It's too hard."
At Dan Ak-seon's sigh of disappointment, Ga Du-dal licked his lips.
It was a habit of his that appeared whenever his kleptomania acted up.
"Your senses are incredible. With a little practice, you'll be able to do it just like me."
Ga Du-dal continued speaking suggestively to the awkwardly smiling Dan Ak-seon.
"If you succeed at this, I'll take you somewhere nice."
"Somewhere nice?"
Dan Ak-seon, who had been looking puzzled, strangely wrinkled his face.
"Do you mean a brothel?"
"Huh?"
Dan Ak-seon's question caught Ga Du-dal off guard.
The place he had in mind was, at most, an acrobat troupe's performance.
He never expected the word 'brothel' to come out of Dan Ak-seon's mouth.
It made sense, as he was far too young to be frequenting such places.
"Have you been to a brothel before?"
"Yes. I've been to a place called Yihwaru with Mr. Beom."
"Yihwaru? Surely you don't mean the Yihwaru in Wuhan?"
"Oh? You know of it too, sir?"
"…"
Ga Du-dal was too flabbergasted to speak.
How could he not know of Wuhan's famous landmark, which was rumored to have surpassed even Suzhou's?
Among gallants who enjoyed drinking and entertainment, Wuhan had long been more famous for Yihwaru than for the Martial Alliance.
It was a place even he had yet to visit.
He was dying to see for himself how spectacular it was, but he didn't dare set foot in Wuhan, where the Martial Alliance was located.
So he had been desperately waiting for a chance to visit.
But to think Dan Ak-seon would be the one to mention Yihwaru.
Ga Du-dal let out a dry cough.
"Ahem. So, what was it like when you went?"
He swallowed his pride and asked, but the answer was unexpected.
"It wasn't that great."
"Huh? Why?"
"I was so tired, I became completely exhausted."
Ga Du-dal chuckled.
"Well, that's understandable if it was your first time."
"First time? It's something I'm used to."
"You're used to it?"
"Yes. But it was still difficult. Unlike usual, I had to deal with all the courtesans there."
"…!"
Ga Du-dal's eyes shook uncontrollably.
"All the courtesans of Yihwaru…?"
Dan Ak-seon nodded with a bitter smile.
"Thanks to that, I had to stay up all night."
Ga Du-dal turned his head toward Beom Gye-wi with shocked eyes.
Seeing that he didn't deny it, it seemed to be true.
And Dan Ak-seon's eyes didn't look like he was lying either.
*'What a beast!'*
The truth was that it was for treatment, but Ga Du-dal, misunderstanding the situation, couldn't help but be inwardly impressed.
Just how virile must one be to be with all the courtesans in a single night!
It was enough to make him wonder if he was the reincarnation of Lao Ai, the legendary lover favored by the Queen Dowager of Qin.
In any case, having discovered another side to Dan Ak-seon, Ga Du-dal swallowed a satisfied smile.
He thought the boy was a stick in the mud, but surprisingly, he knew how to enjoy the finer things in life.
If that was the case, the conditions were more than sufficient.
*'Alright! I've decided!'*
Having made up his mind, Ga Du-dal handed the bell to Dan Ak-seon.
"Take it."
"Really?"
Seeing Dan Ak-seon's face light up, Ga Du-dal also nodded with a pleased expression.
"It's a gift."
"Thank you."
"No, I should be thanking you."
"Huh?"
"It's nothing, never mind…"
Ga Du-dal, trailing off, flinched.
He suddenly felt a prickling sensation on the back of his head.
He turned his head and saw the three of them staring at him with eyes full of suspicion.
"The Ghostly Shadow Demonic Son is giving a gift?"
Cho Ak-ryang's words were followed by Beom Gye-wi's.
"Has anything that's fallen into that guy's hands ever come out again?"
"…"
Han Seol-hwa also stared at Ga Du-dal without a word.
Receiving their uncomfortable gazes, Ga Du-dal swallowed dryly.
Just then, Dan Ak-seon said with a smile.
"Practicing with this bell seems like it would also help with acupuncture. There's probably nothing better for training the delicate senses of one's fingertips."
Ga Du-dal's eyes sparkled.
"That's it exactly! That's what it was made for in the first place."